Italy and its Dubbing Tradition
3.5 Italy and its Dubbing Tradition
As I have briefly anticipated earlier, age and education can play an important role in the audience’s preference for subtitling or dubbing. In addition to this, factors such as tradition, habit and familiarity with one or the other mode contribute substantially to their adoption and appreciation in each individual country. Nevertheless, changes seem to be taking place both in traditionally dubbing and subtitling countries. Nowadays, in Spain and France it is easier to find cinemas showing original versions of foreign films with subtitles while countries like Greece and Denmark have started dubbing audiovisual products like soap-operas and family films (Díaz Cintas 2003: 196-196). The reasons for these changes are likely to lie in the constant evolution of the technology involved in AVT. Films are now mostly available on the market in DVD format, which can contain several dubbed and subtitled versions. Hence, Gambier (2003: 173) shrewdly questions whether the usual division between ‘dubbing’ and ‘subtitling’ countries is nowadays becoming obsolete. Although partly in agreement with Gambier’s statement, I retain this distinction in this thesis because I believe that the tradition developed throughout the 20 th century by individual countries As I have briefly anticipated earlier, age and education can play an important role in the audience’s preference for subtitling or dubbing. In addition to this, factors such as tradition, habit and familiarity with one or the other mode contribute substantially to their adoption and appreciation in each individual country. Nevertheless, changes seem to be taking place both in traditionally dubbing and subtitling countries. Nowadays, in Spain and France it is easier to find cinemas showing original versions of foreign films with subtitles while countries like Greece and Denmark have started dubbing audiovisual products like soap-operas and family films (Díaz Cintas 2003: 196-196). The reasons for these changes are likely to lie in the constant evolution of the technology involved in AVT. Films are now mostly available on the market in DVD format, which can contain several dubbed and subtitled versions. Hence, Gambier (2003: 173) shrewdly questions whether the usual division between ‘dubbing’ and ‘subtitling’ countries is nowadays becoming obsolete. Although partly in agreement with Gambier’s statement, I retain this distinction in this thesis because I believe that the tradition developed throughout the 20 th century by individual countries
Alongside the factors listed above, Luyken et al. (1991: 24-27) explain that choosing subtitling or dubbing in Europe also depends on the size of the receiving audience, their tendency to accept foreign programmes and their real knowledge of a foreign language. In large countries such as Germany, France, Spain and Italy there are plenty of home-produced programmes. Hence, audiences in these countries prefer watching native-language programmes and tend to opt for dubbing for imported productions. On the other hand, smaller countries tend to import a larger number of foreign programmes, because of the production costs, and thus use subtitling as the preferred AVT mode. Italy is one of the so called ‘dubbing countries’. In the following subsections I will offer a brief summary of the historical reasons that have led to this choice and I will discuss the present situation of AVT in this country.
3.5.1 Historical Background When the acoustic element was introduced into cinema production, the problem of its translation arose in non-English speaking countries because the majority of films were produced by cinema studios in Hollywood. At first Italy adopted subtitles. However, the relatively high number of illiterate people in this country between the 1920s and 1930s forced American production studios such as Fox and Paramount to provide alternatives which would not discourage cinema-goers of restricted reading ability. The American studios initially opted for the re-production of the original films into local versions with target-language actors (e.g. The Big Trail, 1931, Raoul Walsh, Il 3.5.1 Historical Background When the acoustic element was introduced into cinema production, the problem of its translation arose in non-English speaking countries because the majority of films were produced by cinema studios in Hollywood. At first Italy adopted subtitles. However, the relatively high number of illiterate people in this country between the 1920s and 1930s forced American production studios such as Fox and Paramount to provide alternatives which would not discourage cinema-goers of restricted reading ability. The American studios initially opted for the re-production of the original films into local versions with target-language actors (e.g. The Big Trail, 1931, Raoul Walsh, Il
Historical and political reasons also played an important role. In Italy (but also in Germany and Spain), the choice of dubbing is the result of the nationalistic regime that ruled the country during the early decades of the twentieth century (Danan 1991). The Italian Fascist regime was concerned with building a strong nationalistic spirit through propaganda and this covered every means of media production, including cinema. This regime built and supported acting schools and studios like the Centro Sperimentale and Cinecittà in order to control imported material through dubbing. Mussolini imposed dubbing as the only mode of translation and justified this choice as an attempt to protect the Italian language and identity (Fasold 1983: 77, quoted in Danan 1991: 611-612). Dubbing was subsequently adopted for almost all imported productions in Italy, as I show in the next subsection.
3.5.2 Present Situation Nowadays the Italian audience are so accustomed to dubbing that it has also become their preferred option. Antonini’s (2005: 211) research on the numbers of hours of dubbed and subtitled programmes broadcast weekly in Italy confirms that dubbing is almost the only solution used. As shown in Figure 3.1 below, the number of hours of translated programmes broadcast in Italy each week is as follows:
Figure 3.1: Hours of dubbed and subtitled programmes broadcast weekly in Italy (Antonini 2005: 211)
As can be seen, imported TV programmes in Italy are predominantly dubbed (346). Only a small portion is subtitled (17.5). In addition, Chiaro (2004) has analysed the percentage of dubbed production broadcast weekly on the main national Italian terrestrial channels, as shown in Figure 3.3 below:
Figure 3.3: Percentages of dubbed programmes broadcast weekly on national Italian channels (Chiaro 2004: 40)
Interestingly, the three channels belonging to the state television RAI (RAIUNO, RAIDUE and RAITRE) broadcast a relatively small amount of imported productions. This may be due to the fact that Italians pay for a TV licence in order to watch these Interestingly, the three channels belonging to the state television RAI (RAIUNO, RAIDUE and RAITRE) broadcast a relatively small amount of imported productions. This may be due to the fact that Italians pay for a TV licence in order to watch these
Therefore, it may not be surprising to find that only one percent of Italians have sufficient competence in a foreign language to be able to watch a film in its original version (Paolinelli 2004: 176). Very occasionally, if the imported material does not justify the dubbing or voice-over costs, subtitles may be used. For example, interviews involving foreign singers broadcast by the music channel MTV are usually subtitled. In other cases, factors like time pressure and the high-value of the audiovisual material lead to subtitling. A significant example of this is presented by the Mostra Internazionale d’Arte Cinematografica - the Italian cinema festival. During this event, given the high number of films presented in the brief period of ten days and the cultural relevanc e of an event presenting ‘art films’ (Pisek 1997: 38; Antonini 2005: 211), subtitling is used as an alternative to dubbing.
I will now discuss the ways in which Italian scholars and practitioners suggest that the problems I discussed in the previous section are, or could be, overcome. Conclusions derived from both the theory and practice in AVT can be considered equally useful because, as Ulrych (2000: 410) puts it , they are “simply two sides of the same coin: theory informs practice, which in turn contributes towards a theoretical framework”.
As suggested earlier, the retention of language- and culture-specific elements such as accents is almost impossible in dubbing. However, they are likely to have a connotative valence only within their own culture. In order to compensate for such loss, echoing Camuzio (1993, quoted in La Polla 1994), La Polla proposes the use of
‘doppiaggio creativo’ (creative dubbing). This process involves the introduction into the TT of accents, inflections or other elements that are familiar to the target audience. However, he warns that this cannot be taken as a norm or absolute law for dubbing;
rather, he suggests the application of familiar TT cultural references when appropriate, for example in conveying humour (ibid.56-59, cf. also Patou-Patucchi 2006: 120). On similar lines, Raffaelli (1994: 285) mentions the successful application of ‘doppiaggio creativo’ not only to light-hearted productions such as Many Rivers to Cross (1956, Roy Rowland, Un napoletano nel Far West) but also t o more ‘serious’ ones like Trash (1970, Paul Morrisey, Trash. I rifiuti di New York).
Nowadays this translation procedure seems to be applied only to fictional and comic characters such as those in Disney films (e.g. Thomas O’Malley, the cat with Irish origins in The Aristocats (1970, Gli aristogatti), TV series (Tequila and Bonetti 1992, Tequila e Bonetti) (Pavesi 1994: 132) or TV animated cartoons like The Simpsons (1987- , Matt Groening), where a number of supporting and one-off characters have been connoted by Italian accents and dialects for humorous purposes (Dore 2002). Ferrari’s (2006) contrastive analysis of the Anglo-American original and the Italian dubbed version of the TV series The Nanny (1993, Fran Drescher, La Tata) confirms this trend in Italian AVT. In the dubbed Italian version, the main character, Fran (Fran Drescher), a woman of Jewish origins from Queens becomes Francesca Cacace, a woman of marked Italian origins. Ferrari suggests that this target-oriented approach has contributed enormously to this sitcom’s success in Italy. It could be argued that such a high level of manipulation creates an “unfaithful” reproduction of the ST. Yet, I believe that in this context the dubbing team ’s solution of adopting target-culture references can be seen as an attempt to compensate specific references in the ST that the target audience are likely to miss anyhow.
Paolinelli’s (2004) work is a detailed account of the situation of Italian dubbing. He denounces the tendency to consider films according to their marketing potential rather than as works of art, which has been affecting its quality in the last decade. In
considering the reasons for this, he points out firstly that the fast growth of new technologies such as satellite television has resulted in the creation of new dubbing companies. The main objective of these companies is to gain new markets and clients by cutting the production costs, thus leading to a poorer quality of services and products (ibid.173). Furthermore, Polinelli points out that American production companies usually invest 50% or more o f the film’s production cost in its promotion. In addition, they usually invest in high-quality dubbing because they are aware of its high economic returns. Hollywood productions usually cover most of the Italian market (70%). In contrast, European companies spend approximately only 6% for promotion and consequently struggle to be exported into the American market. Their only support comes from the European Union’s Media Program that attempts to protect European productions and their adequate transfer. In the light of this, Paolinelli suggests the creation of a ‘European Dubbing Agency’ which can protect and promote European movies and TV programmes (ibid.174). It is worth noting that such an agency should include subtitling, so as to target a larger pool of spectators.
As for the Italian situation, Paolinelli explains that the ADIAC (Associazione Italiana Doppiatori e Adattatori Cinetelevisivi – Italian Association of Dubbers and Adapters for Cinema and Television; my translation) has been working hard to make sure that the quality of dubbing in Italy is respected and kept to high standards (ibid.177). Therefore, he advocates a more active distribution of Italian audiovisual products of certified quality. This can be done by offering contracts for dubbers that clearly state the need for quality. Moreover, he suggests that the distribution and As for the Italian situation, Paolinelli explains that the ADIAC (Associazione Italiana Doppiatori e Adattatori Cinetelevisivi – Italian Association of Dubbers and Adapters for Cinema and Television; my translation) has been working hard to make sure that the quality of dubbing in Italy is respected and kept to high standards (ibid.177). Therefore, he advocates a more active distribution of Italian audiovisual products of certified quality. This can be done by offering contracts for dubbers that clearly state the need for quality. Moreover, he suggests that the distribution and
Interestingly, the AIDAC seems to emphasise the role of dubbing actors and adaptors (cf. definition above). Hence, the figure of the translator seems to exist only as a marginal contribution to the whole dubbing process. Galassi (1994: 62-63) also informs us that an adaptor may not even know the source language of the material s/he works on (be it Chinese, Hindi, English, etc.). In Italian AVT what really counts is her/his ability to adequately adapt the TT to the visual elements on the screen (cf. also Patou-Patucchi 2006:118).
Paves i and Perego’s (2006) analysis provide a valuable insight into the adaptors’ professional situation in Italy. In particular, their work confirms that there is a very limited number of adaptors who deal with the majority of the audiovisual material imported into the country. Most of them are male and, not surprisingly, live in Rome (where most dubbing studios are). Pavesi and Perego have interviewed the ten most hired adaptors who confirmed that, although being very proficient in Italian, they do not necessarily hold a degree in translation or related fields. Moreover, they work from home so that they rarely have the possibility to share their experience and difficulties with other colleagues. Interestingly, Pavesi and Perego have discovered that adaptors are more and more aware of the fact that dubbed productions often fall into ‘doppiagese’ (cf. Section 3.2 above). They try to avoid this by making use of linguistic devices (e.g. lexical dislocation, slang, idiomatic expressions, colloquial cleft sentences) that can recreate the illusion of the ST’s informal language. However, the adaptors also hasten to point out that their main priorities in adapting the TT are its maximum ‘speakability’ and ‘performability’. Consequently, the dubbing actors will find the TT easier to perform and the whole dubbing process will speed up (ibid.108; Paves i and Perego’s (2006) analysis provide a valuable insight into the adaptors’ professional situation in Italy. In particular, their work confirms that there is a very limited number of adaptors who deal with the majority of the audiovisual material imported into the country. Most of them are male and, not surprisingly, live in Rome (where most dubbing studios are). Pavesi and Perego have interviewed the ten most hired adaptors who confirmed that, although being very proficient in Italian, they do not necessarily hold a degree in translation or related fields. Moreover, they work from home so that they rarely have the possibility to share their experience and difficulties with other colleagues. Interestingly, Pavesi and Perego have discovered that adaptors are more and more aware of the fact that dubbed productions often fall into ‘doppiagese’ (cf. Section 3.2 above). They try to avoid this by making use of linguistic devices (e.g. lexical dislocation, slang, idiomatic expressions, colloquial cleft sentences) that can recreate the illusion of the ST’s informal language. However, the adaptors also hasten to point out that their main priorities in adapting the TT are its maximum ‘speakability’ and ‘performability’. Consequently, the dubbing actors will find the TT easier to perform and the whole dubbing process will speed up (ibid.108;
be questioned by the practice and the translation mode itself. Equivalence in AVT cannot be considered pivotal if the final production is an attempt to adjust the original cultural context to the target one. This seems to be a norm ruling Italian dubbing (cf. Lambert and Delabastita 1996, quoted in Ulrych 2000: 403). For example, culture- specific references (e.g. names of places, measurement units, institutions and so on) tend to be made more familiar to the target audience by means of explication, substitution or omission (Bovinelli and Gallini 1994: 89-98). The translation of culture-specific references is discussed in more detail in Chapter 6.
However, Ulry ch’s (1994) comparative analysis of the original and Italian versions of the film The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1918, Karel Reisz, La donna del tenente francese ) shows that the opposite can be found in Italian dubbing. Ulrych explains that for this film the Italian translation team retained Anglo-Saxon terms of address (Mr., Miss, Mrs.). In Ulrych’s view, this choice does not distract Italian audiences probably because they are quite tolerant of the influence of foreign cultures. Ulrych’s most interesting considerations are related to the differences between the Anglo-American and Italian acting codes. She points out that the dubbing actors tend to retain the Italian acting code, thus creating a mismatch between the verbal and visual text. For example, Ulrych explains that in The French Lieutenant’s Woman, the Italian actress who dubs Sarah, one of the female characters, presents paralinguistic features (pace, However, Ulry ch’s (1994) comparative analysis of the original and Italian versions of the film The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1918, Karel Reisz, La donna del tenente francese ) shows that the opposite can be found in Italian dubbing. Ulrych explains that for this film the Italian translation team retained Anglo-Saxon terms of address (Mr., Miss, Mrs.). In Ulrych’s view, this choice does not distract Italian audiences probably because they are quite tolerant of the influence of foreign cultures. Ulrych’s most interesting considerations are related to the differences between the Anglo-American and Italian acting codes. She points out that the dubbing actors tend to retain the Italian acting code, thus creating a mismatch between the verbal and visual text. For example, Ulrych explains that in The French Lieutenant’s Woman, the Italian actress who dubs Sarah, one of the female characters, presents paralinguistic features (pace,
language used in the target text (ibid.158-159).
As is clear from this brief discussion, Italian dubbing (and dubbing in general) is the result of a great creative effort on the translators ’ and adaptors’ part. As a matter of fact, the successful resolution of all the problems listed above requires a high level of translating expertise, which is commonly neglected.
In the next section, I will concentrate on the (un)resolved question regarding the possibility of translating humour.